British cop accused of raping a woman five times

‘taunted her with mind games by saying no one would believe her if she reported the crime’

A serving police constable accused of repeatedly raping a woman 'taunted' her that no one would believe her if she reported the attacks because of his job, a court heard today.

Metropolitan police officer Errol Patterson, 52, is accused of raping the woman five times over a period from 2005 to 2011, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

Patterson, who serves at a Lambeth police station, used a 'policeman lock' to trap the woman during one of the alleged assaults and ordered her to 'stop resisting' in another incident, the jury heard.

Opening the case, prosecutor Tom Wilkins told the jury that they may question why the alleged attacks were only reported to police last year.

'The reason was because he taunted her with the fact she was dealing with a serving police officer,' Mr Wilkins said.

Patterson would tell the woman, 'who’s going to believe you, I know the courts very well, I’m a police officer,' before adding 'if you report this allegation no one is going to believe you,' the prosecutor said.

The attacks were 'demoralising' for the woman, Mr Wilkins told the jury. 'It got to the point she just expected it to happen,' he added.

The alleged victim sat in court behind a screen as her videoed police interview was played to the jury.

She broke down in tears during the interview as she described feeling 'like garbage' after the alleged rapes.

She told police that Patterson once held her in a 'policeman's lock' which made it 'pointless' trying to escape.

'Because you’re in a lock, fighting doesn’t lead to anything that is going to force you away,' the woman said.

'I felt cheap, I felt dirty. It felt like you were garbage.'

The woman told police that Patterson’s 'mind games' worked because she did not report the incidents to police. 'Who is going to believe me anyhow,' she said.

She claimed the defendant told her, 'I know what the law is like,' and 'I work at the Metropolitan police. They are not going to believe what you say anyhow, so you can do what you like'.

In another alleged attack Patterson told the woman to 'stop resisting', she added.

'I said, "you’re treating me like a common criminal”’, she told police.

The woman said she once bit the defendant on the arm in an attempt to get him off her.

The court heard that he was not acting in his capacity as a police officer at the times that the alleged rapes took place.

Patterson from Leyton, east London, denies five counts of rape between 2005 and 2011.

Original report here




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